Thursday, September 27, 2012

Kindergarten... 1 month into it.

It has been one whole month since the Kindergarten's official start. Here are a few things that have been happening since then:

1. There are approximately 35 kids in the school now, split up into 2 classes. I say "approximately" because there are new recruits trickling in every few days. The capacity would be 42 kids, so there is still a little bit of room for anyone else that shows up.

The goal for next semester is 3 classes, at least. That would be 63 students, as each class has a 21 count limit.

2. The playground is open. It was built by the school, and will function as a playground for the kids in the school and the kids that live in the complex. It is the only public playground around. The kids love it.

3. There are 4 teachers at the school, 2 helpers and Barbara. This month, all of the teachers have been sick at one point or another. Also, one of the teachers is away at meetings in another province. Thus, it has been a busy month for everyone. China has the October holiday next week, so the teachers will get a well deserved break.

This next point is from my point of view, which is of a dad and husband that comes in every so often to steal photos and videos of the kids:

4. Most of the kids seem to be adapting well. The older kids all seem comfortable with their classes, both English and Chinese, and are up to the challenge of learning the languages. The younger kids are a little more shy and sometimes have a hard time leaving their moms and dads for the day, which is understandable because they are 3 years old. Yet, they sing their songs together and play their games together, so they're slowly getting comfortable, too.

Seeing all of the kids together is a great thing to see. I have been working on a video of the whole thing, which I will hopefully have up for viewing by the end of next week. So, look out for that in the near future.